Post-Apocalyptic Summer Reading*

[kato13]

Raellus 07-29-2008, 05:40 PM I've been fortunate to have been able to do quite a bit of leisure reading this summer. Here are a couple of PAW (Post Apocalyptic World) related novels you may want to check out if you haven't already.


WARNING: May contain spoilers. I've tried not to give too much away, but it's hard to tell whether I succeeded or not.


The Road by Cormac McCarthy (5 out of 5 Mushroom Clouds)


I promised myself a long time ago that I would never read anything endorsed by Oprah Winfrey. But, after reading some glowing (pardon the pun) reviews on the ZombieSquad site, I picked up a copy of this one and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.


This book is grim. The PAW of The Road is a blasted, ash-blown wasteland where nothing grows. The protagonists of the novel are a man and his son (known as "the man" and "the boy") who are attempting to trek cross-country to the coast. No location is ever specified so the story could be set almost anywhere in the Western World. The two travellers must survive the cold of Nuclear Winter, scrounge for canned food, and dodge bands of roving cannibals. It's a heartrending story of survival, love, and hope. Gawd, I sound like Oprah! Sorry. As a father of a young son, myself, this book really resonated with me.


The Postman by Dawid Brin (3 out of 5 Mushroom Clouds)


Despite having read and enjoyed several other sci-fi novels by Brin, I promised myself a long time ago that I would never read anything adapted as a film starring Kevin Costner. But, after reading The Road, I was craving more PAW lit and I couldn't resist any longer.


The Postman is about a PAW survivor trekking to the Pacific Northwest (of the U.S.). Along the way, he finds a U.S. Postal Service uniform and dons it, at first just to stay warm, then to bluff his way into a settlement, and then, as the charade snowballs, as a way of uniting survivor communities with hope in a fictitious restored federal gov. In Oregon, he encounters a community led by a sentient being known as the Cyclops. The community is being threatened by a large group of neo-survivalists (i.e. marauders).


I enjoyed most of this book but the ending kind of ruined it for me. The bits about "augments" seemed like they was tacked on to an otherwise strong story in order to make the whole seem more like conventional sci-fi. IMHO, the ploy fails miserably and actually detracts from the whole. It was still an intriguing and fast-paced read so I'd recommend it more than not.


A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter J. Miller Jr. (4 out of 5 Mushroom Clouds)


This was by far the most challenging and adventurous PAW novel of the three. It was, however, the most difficult to get through. The first third of the novel is set 600 after the "flame deluge" (i.e. nuclear holocaust). A small group of Catholic monks preserve the "memorabilia"- fragmentary documents that somehow survived the not-quite-biblical-apocalypse and the quasi-Luddite pogroms against the intelligencia that followed. The narrative jumps far into the future two times in order to show how humans consistently fail to learn from their past mistakes. As a reader, it's a bit tough to transition to the various different temporal settings and protagonists, but it's worth the effort in the end. The last bit of the story is particularly poignant and moving. Catholics, active or lapsed, will probably find the hierarchy and rituals of the PAW Catholic Church particularly interesting.


Currently, I'm reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It's not PAW lit, but it could serve as inspiration for the creation of particularly vicious marauder types. It's a western set along the U.S.-Mexico border c. 1850 and it's by far the most disturbingly violent book I've ever read. The Road (same author) is nowhere as graphic or unrelenting in its depiction of depravity and violence.


Next summer, I'm planning on reading On the Beach, Alas Babylon, and maybe Lucifer's Hammer.


I'm interested in what those of you who have read any of the above (reviewed or not-yet-read) thought about these books.


*Winter Reading for our Antipodean members.

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DeaconR 07-29-2008, 08:00 PM I recommend all of the three you last mentioned. They're very good. And that first one, The Road sounds pretty good. I do still recommend Swan Song for all of its supernatural element; it really does convey a sense of hopelessness and doom that for me sum up the sense of terror of nuclear war in the 80s.

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kcdusk 07-29-2008, 08:50 PM I'm embarrased to say i have just started reading "I am legend". The film was "good", the book, through the first 12 chapters, is great.


I'd also recommend Logans run and the day of hte triffids. But then this isnt a book appreciation thread ...


Um, i would like to read The Postman, but if the film was loooong, i can only imagine how looooooong hte book will be :-)

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Raellus 07-29-2008, 09:56 PM I'm embarrased to say i have just started reading "I am legend". The film was "good", the book, through the first 12 chapters, is great.


I'd also recommend Logans run and the day of hte triffids. But then this isnt a book appreciation thread ...


Um, i would like to read The Postman, but if the film was loooong, i can only imagine how looooooong hte book will be :-)


Don't worry about it. I'd love more recommendations.


The Postman is only 321 pages and it's a fast-paced read. Give it a shot and tell me what you think.


I'd like to read I am Legend too. I just have to find a new copy that doesn't have the movie poster on the cover. I've got nothing against the film but I've got a thing about avoiding tie-ins. Weird, I know.


Just a word of warning to anyone considering reading The Road- the author doesn't use conventional punctuation when it comes to dialogue so it's sometimes hard to tell who is saying what in any given exchange. His dialogue, though, is very natural and flows (or jumps about) like real spoken conversation. It just takes a double-take or two to figure out which character is speaking.

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Targan 07-30-2008, 12:36 AM I really liked The Postman, the book was very different to the film and much better IMO. I am a bit of a David Brin fanboy though.


On the Beach is very well written but be aware - it is very, very depressing.

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thefusilier 07-30-2008, 01:54 AM I'd like to read Just a word of warning to anyone considering reading [u]The Road- the author doesn't use conventional punctuation when it comes to dialogue so it's sometimes hard to tell who is saying what in any given exchange. His dialogue, though, is very natural and flows (or jumps about) like real spoken conversation. It just takes a double-take or two to figure out which character is speaking.


I found it hard as well. Then I stumbled on the official audio format and downloaded it. The speaker does a good job and clears it up alot. Hopefully the movie will be good too... but I have my doubts. For one it isn't an ash covered world with all trees dead and so on... its the overly overly used plague idea instead.


Postman was good, but I didn't like the SciFi bits near the end. The movie was horrendous but I have to admit I liked the New America style fellas and based a cell on them in eastern Oregon.


I am Legend was good... but too short. I read it after I watched Omega man when I was younger and a huge fan of the movie.


I'm trying to get my hands on Alas Babylon, and Lucifer's Hammer too.

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kcdusk 07-30-2008, 02:40 AM Ha! I tried to get a copy of "legend" without will smith on the front as well ... but in the end my mum got it for my birthday, along with will smith on the front. Oh well!


I am legend is a short book, as is Logans Run and Day of the Triffids. All seem to make great reading though.


THe POstman was a long movie, but in the end i didnt mind it. The book sounds worth a read though, i am in hte city this weekend and might see if i can find me a copy at the second hand book stores.

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simonmark6 07-30-2008, 06:08 AM The Road is a brilliant book but I didn't enjoy it. It was very realistic and believable and hence just too crushingly pessemistic to say I enjoyed it. It is an extremely evocative piece.


Richard Mathesson's (sp?) I am Legend is a sound book. Intersting and reasonably written, I'd reccomend it.


The Postman is much better than the film, definately a good summer read.


As for books not mentioned here:


Death of Grass: John Christopher, a good read.


Brother in the Land: Robert Swindells: a book aimed at teenagers about life after a nuclear war, a poerful and gritty read nonetheless.


The Chrysalids: John Wyndham about kids in Newfoundland many generations after a nuclear war.


Riddley Walker: Can't remember the author, the adventures of a boy in Britain generations after the apocalypse, written in an evolved form of English, more accurately you could say devolved, where entertainment is a bunch of puppeteers who tell of the day when the usaman will come to save everyone. A really interesting read.

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copeab 07-30-2008, 08:16 AM As a "guilty pleasures" selection, I recommend the Traveler series by D.B. Drumm (if you can find them). Gets weird in the latter half of the series, but early books are B-movie post-apoc fun.


Brandon

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simonmark6 07-30-2008, 09:25 AM If you're talking B-class stuff, which is huge fun but not so worthy:


Jerry Ahern: The Survivalist, everything you wanted to know about Dectonics but were too afraid to ask...

From the Ashes

The Deathlands: Axler


All filled with death and mayhem, the read like I imagine the General's games to run.

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Twilight2000V3 07-30-2008, 11:45 AM I heard great hings abou the road but man, as a dad I dont know if I could read it!!


The Survivalist is a great series until about book 7 or 8.


I have one of the Traveller books and its pretty interesting.... talk about the A Team van with dual HK 21s LOL

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Targan 07-30-2008, 11:44 PM Simonmark6 I've read The Chrysalids and like most of John Wyndham's stuff it is very good. I've heard good things about The Death of Grass but have not read it myself. I once read a novel when I was in high school about a teenager in Britain who survives a plague that wipes out the elderly first and then all the adults leaving only children. It was a heart breaking book but had a happy ending. I can't remember its title but the cover of the book showed a blue sky with an open door in it and on the other side of the door was more (but different) blue sky.

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kcdusk 07-31-2008, 02:03 AM The Chrysalids: John Wyndham about kids in Newfoundland many generations after a nuclear war.

.


John Wyndham - same guy who wrote Day of the Triffids. After johns death a book called "Night of the triffids was released and thats a good read also.


I read allot, and am not scared of long books. When i start a book i need to finish it though, even if its crap. A book i started, but didnt like, was The Stand - by Stephen King. From memory its post-apoc. It just never seemed to find "another gear" or rise to any heights. At least thats how i remember it. Maybe its worth another read because many people say its a good book, but that wasnt my first impression.

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TiggerCCW UK 07-31-2008, 03:58 AM Simonmark6 I've read The Chrysalids and like most of John Wyndham's stuff it is very good. I've heard good things about The Death of Grass but have not read it myself. I once read a novel when I was in high school about a teenager in Britain who survives a plague that wipes out the elderly first and then all the adults leaving only children. It was a heart breaking book but had a happy ending. I can't remember its title but the cover of the book showed a blue sky with an open door in it and on the other side of the door was more but different) blue sky.


Sounds like Empty World by John Christopher, I think.

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simonmark6 07-31-2008, 05:58 AM Sounds like Empty World by John Christopher, I think.


Give that man a cigar! And I was feeling all smug scrolling down because I was going to give the answer!

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Targan 07-31-2008, 06:30 AM Sounds like Empty World by John Christopher, I think.Hey cool, thanks Tig, that could be it. I think from memory the style of writing was probably aimed at teenagers but I remember being really impressed (and saddened) by it at the time. There is a funny part when the kid who is at the centre of the story is trying to teach himself how to drive and he ends up crawling along in a Mini in first gear on a motorway most of the way to London because he can't master clutch control.

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TiggerCCW UK 07-31-2008, 06:54 AM That sounds like the one. I haven't read it in years but I know its somewhere in the house.

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dude_uk 08-05-2008, 05:03 AM More along the lines of 'world war 3' than post apocalyptic, But are there any fictious accounts of a British unit in world war 3? Theres world war 3 By sir John Hackett which gives a decent overview, Red army for the soviets and Team Yankee for The US.


Cheers as always!

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Headquarters 08-05-2008, 06:03 AM If you're talking B-class stuff, which is huge fun but not so worthy:


Jerry Ahern: The Survivalist, everything you wanted to know about Dectonics but were too afraid to ask...

From the Ashes

The Deathlands: Axler


All filled with death and mayhem, the read like I imagine the General's games to run.


Actually the game the General plays in is more like the postman ( the book )

but instead of running for the first half of the book and getting a thrashing the last half ,the players go postal from page 2 and keeps up the rate of fire until ammo runs out - and its all blades and fists from there on in..

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Brit 08-06-2008, 05:18 AM Jerry Ahern: The Survivalist, everything you wanted to know about Dectonics but were too afraid to ask...



And how to fire an M16 with each hand and still manage to hit what you are aiming at!


'Lucifer's Hammer' has lots of good T2K-esque stuff in it and even a gang that is similar to one in an adventure published in Challenge. (The one with the Coast Guard heavily in it).


The film version of 'The Postman' is good for the look of a post-war / disaster world.

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dude_uk 08-06-2008, 08:22 AM More along the lines of 'world war 3' than post apocalyptic, But are there any fictious accounts of a British unit in world war 3?


Turns out theres 'Chieftains' by Bob Forrest-Webb, anyone read it? Seems it comes highly recommended but very hard to come by.

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Brit 08-07-2008, 12:59 AM Turns out theres 'Chieftains' by Bob Forrest-Webb, anyone read it? Seems it comes highly recommended but very hard to come by.


I have read it (borrowed from the libruary years ago?) It was about a Cheitain tank crew commanded by a senior, long serving, NCO (who towards the end got a Battlefield Commision).


There was also a book from the Russian viewpoint (the lead character was a conscipt infantryman). It told of their advance to a ceasefire line at the Rhine... I think. If memory serves it was called 'World War Three' or similar.

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dude_uk 08-07-2008, 01:47 AM There was also a book from the Russian viewpoint (the lead character was a conscipt infantryman). It told of their advance to a ceasefire line at the Rhine... I think. If memory serves it was called 'World War Three' or similar.


Its called Red army, The Russians get the jump on NATO and push through to the Rhine. NATO gets a hard time in this novel and the bundeswehr along with the Dutch get the worst of it.


Its not Bad but the plot conveniant mistakes that Nato makes are a bit contrived, but then again makes a change of the Russians making mistakes for NATO's benefit.

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Brit 08-07-2008, 01:50 AM That's it. Thanks.


The book called 'World War Three' was a 'General Sir John Hackett'-esque book... (if I remember that correctly!)

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TiggerCCW UK 08-07-2008, 02:14 AM That's it. Thanks.


The book called 'World War Three' was a 'General Sir John Hackett'-esque book... (if I remember that correctly!)


I think you're thinking of 'The Third World War', and also its sequel 'The Third World War - The Untold Story'.


Has anyone read any other books like these? The only other one I've come across that purports to be a 'future history' is Total War 2006 by Simon Pearson.

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Targan 08-07-2008, 02:26 AM I have the novel Sword Point at home and it is a good read, very T2k.

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TiggerCCW UK 08-07-2008, 03:39 AM Sword Point is a cracking read - I particularly liked the cooperative actions against the greater threat. Sorry if that sounds cryptic, but I'm attempting to avoid spoilers.


'Arc Light' (Eric L Harry) has been mentioned many times on the forum before and is a great read, as is 'The 10,000' (Larry Bond I think), 'Red Phoenix' (Larry Bond again, set in Korea) and 'Protect and Defend' (Eric L Harry), although they are more modern war stories than true post apoc.

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Brit 08-07-2008, 05:23 AM I think you're thinking of 'The Third World War', and also its sequel 'The Third World War - The Untold Story'.


It's probably over twenty years ago now but I'm pretty sure there was such a book... in fact there was probably more than one. Back in the 70's / 80's and in thus my teens I remember quite a few 'what if' WWIII books, both 'fiction' and pseudo-history / faction, that I read and this was one of them. I mostly remember is as being not as good [IMO] as the Hackett ones.


There were also lots of 'Post-Holocaust' / 'Survivalist' series too of various quality...

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TiggerCCW UK 08-07-2008, 05:43 AM Not too sure which you mean then - the two 'Third World War' books were both Hackett et al, and are indeed great reads. I had both of them when I was younger, and then they went AWOL, I think during a house move, I recently got them both again in an excellent second hand bookshop in Carlisle (just opposite the Cathedral and well worth a look if you're in the area).


I can remember a few dodgy survivalist books from when I was younger, but there are some quality ones out there. Some of the stuff aimed at kids/teenagers makes for good reading too. Another poster mentioned 'Brother In The Land' by Robert Swindells which is a great read, although I recently picked up a more recent version of the book that had an added chapter on the end of the book which gave it a somewhat happy ending - I very much preferred the open ending of the original version. 'Z for Zachariah' by Robert C O'Brien is another good read, although again aimed squarely at the younger age group.

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Poor Merchant 08-07-2008, 02:21 PM I'd recommend Chieftains - I thought this was pretty good. I didn't rate "The 10,000" at all - I thought that was out there with "The Survivalist" in terms of how far fetched it was.


I'd also recommend "Red Army" by Ralph Peters - this one is WWIII in Europe from the Russian point of view. Essentially it postulates that the Red Army functions pretty much how its users intended. I rather enjoyed this one - I never quite believed that they would be as rubbish as lots of people assumed, and the book humanises the Soviets.


Also, I'd highly recommend "Zinky Boys" by Svetlana Alexievitch which is about Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. Factual not fiction though.

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dude_uk 08-07-2008, 02:59 PM Another poster mentioned 'Brother In The Land' by Robert Swindells which is a great read, although I recently picked up a more recent version of the book that had an added chapter on the end of the book which gave it a somewhat happy ending



Excellent Book that, very believeable in its portrayal. Hard to talk about it without giving spoilers but alot of stuff there can be used for games and such.


And yes the 'new' ending is well rubbish to be frank.

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chico20854 08-07-2008, 05:23 PM Three different styles of book:


38 North Yankee by Ed Ruggero: the Korean theater Light-Infantry version of Team Yankee basically. Good stuff, written by a US Army Infantry officer.


The War That Never Was: recommended by someone here a year or two ago, basically a slightly novelized version of the US Navy War College war games held in the 1980s, a worldwide strategic history of a hypothetical classical "Warsaw Pact invasion of Germany leads to World War III". Hackett updated to the late 1980s...


and


Long Voyage Back by Luke Rhinehart: a bunch of civilians on a sailboat in the Chesapeake Bay at the start of a nuclear war try to survive as they flee contamination, chaos and other dangers. A bunch of good ideas for a civilian-oriented nautical campaign.


Most of these can be found online used real cheap...

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Matt Wiser 08-07-2008, 05:37 PM When it comes to WW III or other "future war" books, here's my list in no particular order:


1) Red Storm Rising


2) Red Phoenix


3) Vortex


4) Sword Point


5) Trial By Fire


6) The Ten Thousand


7) The War That Never Was


8) First Clash (a Canadian Brigade in WW III)


9) Trinity's Child (this book was the basis for the movie By Dawn's Early Light)


10) Team Yankee


11) Both The Third World War: August 1985 and The Third World War: The Untold Story


12) Proud Legions (U.S. Armor against the North Koreans)


13) Arc Light

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Brit 08-08-2008, 12:52 AM Larry Bond:Apart from his work on 'Red Storm Rising' he also wrote 'Vortex' (war in South Africa) and a 'Second Korean War' one, 'Red Phoenix'. My favourite is his Franco-German invasion of Poland novel 'Cauldron'.


His 'Battles of The Third World War' looks intriguing. Anybody read it? The publisher is Games Designers' Workshop!


TriggerCCW UK: I can actually just about remember what that book looked like... About a inch thick - thinner than the Hackett ones, thicker than a normal paperback and that's it. Mostly dull red cover. It's beginning to bug me now!

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TiggerCCW UK 08-08-2008, 01:48 AM TriggerCCW UK: I can actually just about remember what that book looked like... About a inch thick - thinner than the Hackett ones, thicker than a normal paperback and that's it. Mostly dull red cover. It's beginning to bug me now!


Sorry about that - I know how hard it can be to get something out of your head. I have the same problem with a book I posted about on here before. It was a teenagers book following a family after a nuclear war, in the UK. Broken down into three pieces, the first dealing with the attack and immediate aftermath, the second a few years down the line and the third 50 - 60 years after the attack when survivors had begun to evolve to cope with the conditions. People had become furry to cope with increased solar radiation among other things IIRC, and also the children of survivors in big bunkers had begun to surface again. No idea what it was called, but at least one other person on here remembered it (Targan I think), so I know I didn't dream it!


Excellent Book that, very believeable in its portrayal. Hard to talk about it without giving spoilers but alot of stuff there can be used for games and such.


And yes the 'new' ending is well rubbish to be frank.


I actually got to meet the author in the mid eighties - he was doing a book signing round schools, one of which included mine. I actually had a signed coy of 'Brother in the land', but I fear that it has disappeared somewhere along the lines. I'm not at all sure why he felt the need to add the extra chapter in, unless he was trying to appeal to a new market that needed a happy ending. As far as I'm concerned the book still stops with him finding the blank journal and writing his history down.

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Brit 08-08-2008, 02:02 AM Sorry about that - I know how hard it can be to get something out of your head.


No need for the 'sorry'... don't worry about it.


As a kid, so it's thirty or more years ago, I read a novel called 'The Perilous Escape' (from the school libruary I think). It was a real Boy's Own read all about two RAF fighter pilots in WWII. On a patrol over the North Sea they both have to crash land on a sand bar in the North Sea and, believe it or not, fall down into an under / beneath the Earth world a la Jules Verne. Anyway... much adventure then follows...


I loved this book and it drove me nuts not being able to find it (not knowing who the author was didn't help). Then many, many, years later - on holiday - I found a mildly tatty copy in a secondhand shop.


Bliss!

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TiggerCCW UK 08-08-2008, 02:10 AM The book I was talking about came from the school library as well - things were better in those days I reckon. Not entirely sure why I didn't just pinch it like I did with numerous others......

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simonmark6 08-08-2008, 03:18 AM <Sorry about that - I know how hard it can be to get something out of your head. I have the same problem with a book I posted about on here before. It was a teenagers book following a family after a nuclear war, in the UK. Broken down into three pieces, the first dealing with the attack and immediate aftermath, the second a few years down the line and the third 50 - 60 years after the attack when survivors had begun to evolve to cope with the conditions. People had become furry to cope with increased solar radiation among other things IIRC, and also the children of survivors in big bunkers had begun to surface again. No idea what it was called, but at least one other person on here remembered it (Targan I think), so I know I didn't dream it!>


Children of the Dust.

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TiggerCCW UK 08-08-2008, 03:37 AM Sir, you are a legend!!!! :jump: :jump:


Were I not married already and were you not a bloke I would track you down and marry you. Thank you very much for the information - all I have to do now is track down a copy, which hopefully won't prove too hard. Thank you very much.

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Targan 08-08-2008, 03:47 AM I have the same problem with a book I posted about on here before. It was a teenagers book following a family after a nuclear war, in the UK. Broken down into three pieces, the first dealing with the attack and immediate aftermath, the second a few years down the line and the third 50 - 60 years after the attack when survivors had begun to evolve to cope with the conditions. People had become furry to cope with increased solar radiation among other things IIRC, and also the children of survivors in big bunkers had begun to surface again.

Yes, I remember a poignant scene in the book where one old lady who was a survivor of the nuclear war was, decades later, living among genetically altered humans who had long white hair covering their bodies (a mutation which helped them deal with the cripplingly high levels of UV in the post-nuke world). As I recall she ended up dying of skin cancer.

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simonmark6 08-08-2008, 05:14 AM I'll check in school. It was a popular text in the late 80s, early '90s and I sometimes find them in the back of book cupboards. I'm not going in til late August, if I find one I'll PM you for your address and send you it. If you don't want to give your address out (I'd be reluctant) and I do find one (not certain), could I send it via the University?

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TiggerCCW UK 08-08-2008, 05:30 AM I'll check in school. It was a popular text in the late 80s, early '90s and I sometimes find them in the back of book cupboards. I'm not going in til late August, if I find one I'll PM you for your address and send you it. If you don't want to give your address out (I'd be reluctant) and I do find one (not certain), could I send it via the University?


Thank you for the kind offer. And my implied marriage offer didn't even scare you off!

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simonmark6 08-08-2008, 11:14 AM No problemo, I just hope I can find one.

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DeaconR 08-08-2008, 08:39 PM BTW, I don't know if anyone's mentioned "Red Army" which is in my humble opinion one of the best WWIII novels written, by Ralph Peters. It's from the point of view of a Soviet Army Group that invades West Germany.

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dude_uk 08-09-2008, 07:12 AM BTW, I don't know if anyone's mentioned "Red Army" which is in my humble opinion one of the best WWIII novels written, by Ralph Peters. It's from the point of view of a Soviet Army Group that invades West Germany.



Yeah its a good read, gives alot of insight into how the Soviet army works. Though he does give the West Germans and Dutch a really hard time in the book.


Regarding children of the dust, why not buy a copy off amazon tigger loads of copies there.


Childre of the dust on amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Dust-Young-Adult-Books/dp/0099314118/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218287487&sr=1-3)

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